response 88 of 306:

Jan 22 19:09 UTC 2004

Steve Buscemi was great - I'm not much of a HBC fan, but that's because I just
can't get into the characters she picks.  And John, thanks - your description
of "Big Fish" totally encapsulated what I've tried to say.

I caught "Along Came Polly" last night.  I love Ben Stiller and I thought this
was pretty funny.  I forget that Hank Azaria is one of the funniest character
actors out there (and has an amazing body - God knows, you see enough of it),
and this movie had some great featured actors:  Azaria, Alex Baldwin (why he
doesn't do more comedy, I don't know) and PHilip Seymour Hoffman.  I laughed
a lot, but then, I was in the mood to laugh.

We never talk about previews, but I wanted to mention one that had me really
cracking up:  "Starsky and Hutch".  It looks wickedly funny - but then, with
Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear . . who can touch that?

response 90 of 306:

Jan 26 17:04 UTC 2004

I think that might be my next movie.

response 92 of 306:

Jan 26 18:59 UTC 2004

"Man on the Train" (2003, DVD). Milan is a bank robber arriving in a small
French town to meet his colleagues for a bank "job"; Manesquier is a
patrician town resident, a retired literature (in particular, poetry)
teacher living a quiet life in a modering mansion. They meet by accident
and come to admire each other's lives; the robber of the quiet life of
reflection and the poet of the dash and adventure of crime. They reach
simultaneous crises in their lives while thinking of the other. 

"Kandahar" (2001, DVD). A fictional account of an attempt by a expatriate
Afghanistanian woman journalist, who had been educated in Canada, to reach
her sisten in Kandahar during the Taliban occupation. The lead character
Nafas is played by by an expatriate Afghanistanian woman journalist, who
had been educated in Canada, and the other roles are played by mostly
poor, untrained local residents, including children, of an area in Iran
adjacent to Afghanistan. The film dramatizes the events of her journey
that includes bandits, exiles, the people maimed by land mines, Red Cross
workers, the Madras educational system, crude medical care from a Black
American folk doctor, the oppression of women, and common lives, in a
dramatic dessert landscape. The action is in mostly Afghan languages with
English subtitles while Nafas' accompanying narrative from under her burqa
is in English. 

response 94 of 306:

Jan 28 17:05 UTC 2004

Yay!!!  I can't wait to see this film!!

response 96 of 306:

Jan 28 20:53 UTC 2004

I actually do remember that - but Kurt Russel strikes me as being very
"Herbish".  And I remember where I was when I found out he died (pathetically
sad, but true).  Herb Brooks was an amazing coach.

response 98 of 306:

Jan 30 17:56 UTC 2004

One Man's Opinion on "The Passion"

Paul Harvey tells "The rest of the story"

Paul Harvey's words:

I really did not know what to expect. I was thrilled to have been invited to
a private viewing of Mel Gibson's film "The Passion," but I had also read all
the cautious articles and spin. 

I grew up in a Jewish town and owe much of my own faith journey to the
influence. I have a life long, deeply held aversion to anything that might even
indirectly encourage any form of anti-Semitic thought, language or actions.

I arrived at the private viewing for "The Passion", held in Washington DC and
greeted some familiar faces. The environment was typically Washingtonian,
with people greeting you with a smile but seeming to look beyond you,
having an agenda beyond the words.

The film was very briefly introduced, without fanfare, 
and then the room darkened.

From the gripping opening scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, to the very
human and tender portrayal of the earthly ministry of Jesus, through the
betrayal, the arrest, the scourging, the way of the cross, the encounter 
with the thieves, the surrender on the Cross, until the final scene in 
the empty tomb, this was not simply a movie; it was an encounter, 
unlike anything I have ever experienced.

In addition to being a masterpiece of filmmaking and an artistic triumph,
"The Passion" evoked more deep reflection, sorrow and emotional reaction within
me than anything since my wedding, my ordination or the birth of my children.
Frankly, I will never be the same. When the film concluded, this "invitation
only" gathering of "movers and shakers" in Washington, DC were shaking indeed,
but this time from sobbing.  I am not sure there was a dry eye in the place.

The crowd that had been glad-handing before the film was now eerily silent.

No one could speak because words were woefully inadequate. We had experienced 
a kind of art that is a rarity in life, the kind that makes heaven touch earth.

One scene in the film has now been forever etched in my mind.  A brutalized,
wounded Jesus was soon to fall again under the weight of the cross. His mother
had made her way along the Via Della Rosa. As she ran to him, she flashed back
to a memory of Jesus as a child, falling in the dirt road outside of their
home. Just as she reached to protect him from the fall, she was now reaching to
touch his wounded adult face. Jesus looked at her with intensely probing and
passionately loving eyes (and at all of us through the screen) and said
"Behold I make all things new." These are words taken from the last Book of
the New Testament, the Book of Revelations.

Suddenly, the purpose of the pain was so clear and the wounds, that earlier
in the film had been so difficult to see in His face, His back, indeed all over
His body, became intensely beautiful. They had been borne voluntarily for love.

At the end of the film, after we had all had a chance to recover, a question
and answer period ensued. The unanimous praise for the film, from a rather
diverse crowd, was as astounding as the compliments were effusive. 
The questions included the one question that seems to follow this film,
even though it has not yet even been released.
"Why is this film considered by some to be "anti-Semitic?" 

Frankly, having now experienced (you do not "view" this film) "the Passion"
it is a question that is impossible to answer. A law professor whom I admire
sat in front of me. He raised his hand and responded, "After watching this
film, I do not understand how anyone can insinuate that it even remotely
presents that the Jews killed Jesus. It doesn't." He continued "It made me
realize that my sins killed Jesus." I agree. There is not a scintilla of
anti-Semitism to be found anywhere in this powerful film. If there were,
I would be among the first to decry it. It faithfully tells the Gospel story
in a dramatically beautiful, sensitive and profoundly engaging way.

Those who are alleging otherwise have either not seen the film or have another
agenda behind their protestations. This is not a "Christian" film, in the
sense that it will appeal only to those who identify themselves as followers of
Jesus Christ. It is a deeply human, beautiful story that will deeply touch all
men and women. It is a profound work of art. Yes, its producer is a Catholic
Christian and thankfully has remained faithful to the Gospel text; if that is
no longer acceptable behavior than we are all in trouble. History demands
that we remain faithful to the story and Christians have a right to tell it.

After all, we believe that it is the greatest story ever told and that its
message is for all men and women. The greatest right is the right to hear the
truth.  We would all be well advised to remember that the Gospel narratives to
which "The Passion" is so faithful were written by Jewish men who followed a
Jewish Rabbi whose life and teaching have forever changed the history of the
world.

The problem is not the message but those who have distorted it and used it for
hate rather than love. The solution is not to censor the message, but rather
to promote the kind of gift of love that is Mel Gibson's filmmaking
masterpiece, "The Passion."

It should be seen by as many people as possible. I intend to do everything I
can to make sure that is the case. I am passionate about "The Passion." 
You will be as well. 

Don't miss it!

response 100 of 306:

Jan 31 17:22 UTC 2004

Is Paul Harvey a practicing Jew?

response 102 of 306:

Feb 1 19:13 UTC 2004

How in the world does #98 come close to implying that Harvey is 
Jewish??

response 104 of 306:

Feb 1 23:50 UTC 2004

According to what I found, it *was* written by a deeply committed
Christian (who does not happen to be Paul Harvey).

response 106 of 306:

Feb 25 02:48 UTC 2004

Gibson has said he does not blame the jews for the death of christ, and he
does not agree with his father thta the holocaust never happened.

response 108 of 306:

Feb 25 04:04 UTC 2004

I would have become a Catholic if the Mass had stayed in Latin. Unfortunately,
it didn't, so I'm a Methodist. (I'm going to see the movie tomorrow. I'm not
sure I'll be able to deal with the violence, but I want to see it. It sounds
very intense.)

response 110 of 306:

Feb 25 04:24 UTC 2004

I heard an interview on the radio about the movie.  The actress that plays
Mary is Jewish.  She claims that there is no anti semitism in the movie and
that Mel is a great man and a joy to work with.

response 112 of 306:

Feb 25 14:14 UTC 2004

105, taken alone, is very informative, and does not make any leaps 
of logic.  It merely makes a suggestion of a *possibility* which is 
quite legitimate given the information presented.  It is not a 
statement of absolute truth (about the film), and there is nothing 
in it which denigrates anyone's freedom of religion.